PORT FOURCHON - With unconfirmed reports that oil was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico south of this Lafourche Parish settlement and projections that wind will continue pushing oil west, Gov. Bobby Jindal said state and local governments are working feverishly to protect marshes.

National Guard engineers and aviators and other officials are helping close cuts into marshes along barrier islands along the coast of Plaquemines, Jefferson and Lafourche parishes, "trying to set up a layer of defense," Jindal said in an afternoon press conference.

"It's so important to fill these passes before the oil gets here," Jindal said while looking over a coastal map with Grand Isle Mayor David Carmadelle. "The oil, it doesn't care what parish it's in."

Jindal said the Coast Guard must confirm reports that a sheen and ribbons of oil were spotted about 20 miles south of Port Fourchon. He toured the area today with federal, state and local officials.

Louisiana Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicotpers, based in Hammond, are hauling bags of sand weighing as much as 4,500 pounds each and dropping them in cuts and passes along the coast, he said.

The operation, based at Port Fourchon, is similar to what military helicopters did to fill levee breaches in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This time, the air crews are hauling bags to five sites along the Lafourche coastline, including Thunder Bay at the parish line with Jefferson, he said.

National Guard engineers also are building a berm at Grand Isle and Elmer's Island.

Jindal said he plans to meet with the Army Corps of Engineers today to discuss dredging up material that could close gaps along barrier islands.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., meanwhile, said he plans to speak with Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, the federal official in charge of the oil response, about what he sees as "an enormous discrepancy" in the amount of boom sent to Louisiana compared with other states.

"Louisiana is not getting adequate supplies in terms of what's out there," Vitter said.

Carmadelle, Grand Isle's mayor, said his island community, which depends on tourism and fisheries, needs hard boom to help block passes. He said scores of volunteers have offered to clean the beaches, should oil reach them.

"The bottom line is, it took us five years to get where we are today," Carmadelle said of rebuilding after Katrina.

Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts called on BP to use local businesses and assets to help keep local economies afloat. He said Grand Isle hotels have been empty, suggesting the oil is at fault.